Chapter 7 - To Prove, To Trust, To Succeed
They had barely reformed in the underworld when a fireball flew towards them. Sailing past Preston's shoulder, it had him swearing loudly and pushing Chris to the floor, barly a second before a second fireball flew threw the air where Chris's head had been.
"What the hell?" Chris muttered.
"Louian it's me!" Preston yelled. "You idiot stop it!"
"Preston?" A voice called out.
"Yes!" Preston yelled. He struggled back to his feet, and absently helped Chris up.
"What you doing down here, kid?" Louian asked. "I figured you got killed."
"What?"
"You went after the Charmed Ones, didn't you?"
"Well, nice to see you were so bothered by my death." Preston replied. "I need a favour."
"What kind of favour?" Louian asked suspisiously.
"A demon took mum."
"What? How?"
"She doesn't have powers any more. He stabbed her, then took her somewhere. Can't find her, and...well, she could be dying right now. I need you to find out what you can."
"Sure, sure, Preston. You know I'd do anything for your mum...Give me half-hour, OK? Wait here." He shimmered out, his eyes darting about in a panic.
"The guy looks like a rat." Chris remakred.
"Yeah." Preston nodded. He said down the on the floor, leaning back against the rocky wall. "I guess all we can do now if wait."
"Yeah, I guess." Chris sat down too. "So...you think you'd have been able to kill us then? You know, when you attacked?"
"I don't think so. At the time I thought I could..." He half-laughed at himself. "Stupid, but Ricker had somehow convinced us all we were the best demon's out there, we could kill anyone, anything. And when he'd got us to go after you, he'd convinced us we could kill you all. Maybe he thought we could." Preston shurgged. "I was just so...mad. I was alone, Ricker was dead, my mum and brothers had done something I...I didn't even know could happen. And I just...wanted them back. I thought if I could kill you guys, everything would go back to how it was before. Stupid."
"It's not stupid. I guess it makes sense." Chris shrugged. "Do you...ah...do you still want things to be like before?"
"I...It would be easier if it was. A lot easier. But...being a demon...I guess I'm getting used to clean clothes." He shrugged. "I don't want it to be like that. But I don't like...I don't like walking into a room and everyone looking at me as though I'm holding a gun. I don't like looking at the little kids and seeing how scared they are of me, or the way you lot look at me. But, no, I don't wish it was like before. I...I have these dreams. And it's like before, I'm killing people, and I don't want to do it. But I can't...I can't stop myself from being evil, can I?"
"You can. If you really don't want to be, you can. The dreams...you're having them because you don't think you can change. I mean, I think that's why. I don't know."
"I get why you don't trust me. I don't trust myself." Preston sighed. "But when I attacked you...I was like a different person. And that's what scares me. I'm different now..."
"I, uh, I get that. What it's like to know you've been different, before. Only, not before. For me, I mean." Chris stammered.
"What?"
"I...see, about a year before I was born, this guy came back from the future, to stop Wyatt from going evil. He was gonna turn into this evil ruler, and this future guy was there to stop him turning evil in the first place, to save the future. And...it turned out to be me."
"You? How?"
"I'd come back from the future to save him. Save myself, my family. And I did it, I changed it. Only, it wasn't me. It was a different me, and that me doesn't exist anymore...But I have dreams. Flashes of his life. My other life. It's weird, and I...sometimes, when I wake up, I'm confused about where I am, who I am. Because he's a part of me, dad says, and he always will be. But he...he went through some stuff. Bad stuff, and it made him different to me. So, I, um, I know how confusing it is."
"I guess you do." Preston nodded. "How do you cope with it?"
"By knowing that I'm not that person. Not completly. You can't change your past, what you've done. But you can stop yourself from becoming that same person." Chris said. "And, by the way? Thanks for pushing me away from that fireball back there."
"Wh...Oh. Your welcome."
"You saved my life. You didn't have to do it, and maybe it was only 'cos they'd kill you if you went back without me, but..."
"I wasn't gonna let you die, was I?" Preston replied. "Whether they'd kill me or not."
"Yeah...And...Well, I guess I do trust you. I don't know...I just trust you..."
"I know where she is." The voice made them both jump, and both looked up to see Louian completing his shimmer. Both stood up. "The demon who took her, he put them in a cave where they're powers wont work. He was going to leave them for a while, kill the kids then them, but another demon got to him. They're still where he left them."
"Where is tha-" Chris began, but Preston put his arm out, silencing him. He fixed Louian with a challengig stare.
"You didn't say he had the others too." Louian said, his tone angry.
"You didn't ask." Preston said as his suspisons were confirmed. As soon as he had heard Louian say "them" he knew. And he knew what would come next.
"So you joined them?" Louian sounded surprised, almost scared. "You? After everything you said?I thought you'd just heard that she was gone, but...you...good?"
"Yeah. Surpirsed me, too, trust me." Preston replied lightly, and Chris listened with interest. Just a few seconds ago, Preston had sounded scared, vulnerable, young. Now, he sounded casual, confident, adult. Practice had taught him how to handle demons - or at least this demon - well.
"So, you, what, kill demons now?"
"I...I haven't had to do that. Demon's don't go after them much anymore. Not stupid as you used to be, I guess." Preston shrugged.
"Stupid? Is that how you see us now?"
"I always did mate." Preston replied. "So, where are they?"
"You're going to save them?" Louian asked, half-digusted half-surprised.
"Course we are. You think we're just going to let them rot away?"
"We?" Louian looked at Chris. "I wondered who he was. I thought you'd just got...a killing buddy."
"And you wonder that I think you're stupid?"
"So he's one of them?" Louian snapped.
"I'm his cousin, yeah." Chris said, deciding to contribute the conversation.
"Fit right in there didn't you." Louian spat. "With the witches."
"Actually, no, I didn't." Preston said. "They're as trusting as demons. As in, not very, Louian. Don't think too hard, it'll hurt your head."
"He's getting there though." Chris said, and Preston almost smiled. But he kept his face straight and looked into Louian's eyes.
"I'm getting bored now. Where are they?"
"You're going to save the Charmed Ones. Damn it, this is perfect. Let them die in there, go after the kids in a little while, when they're weakened by grief. Every demon is planning it, and you want me to help you save them?"
"I think that's generally the idea, yes." Preston replied.
"Pres, you know I don't want your mum to get hurt. She was always good to me, when others would have killed me to spare the hassle. But she's not that same anymore, she's a witch now, and I can't save her."
"Their plans wont work anyway. These kids are stronger than you give them the credit for, and they won't be beaten." Preston replied.
"Killing your own, saving the ememy...what happened to you? Your dad would be so disgusted -"
"He's not my dad!" His calm slipped, ever so slightly, and his anger showed. "He's not my dad, just some demon who kidnapped mum made her something she wasn't and messed me and my brothers up. This is all his fault and I don't care what he'd think about it! Don't call him my dad ever again. He's not."
"OK. OK." Louian said nervously. "Just understand me, right? I can't help you savbe the damn Charmed Ones. I'll be killed as soon as word gets out."
"Yeah, but if you don't tell us you'll be killed right now." Chris snapped.
"Pres, just kill the kid and come with me." Louian said. "This isn't you, you're not good you're a demon -"
"No, I'm not. I'm not a demon." Preston said. "I'm half demon and if I want to be good then I can. And guess what, I do. I'm not going to kill him."
"Why?"
"Because family sticks together." Chris said mildly, and Preston looked at him. Chris offered a small smile, then looked back at Louian. "Tell us where they are, or I kill you." He raised his arm, and and eyebrow. "What'll it be?"
"What's he doing?" Louian said, talking directly to Preston as the panic showed on his face.
"Well, at a guess, I'm betting he's getting ready to send one of those static bolts your way. And the best thing is, Louian, I'm pretty sure one of those would kill you."
"OK. OK." Louian muttered. "I never thought I see the day..."
Something to do with their mixed genes had left all of the Prue's sons with some kind of strange sixth sense. While the other Charmed kids were telepathic, although only when they were in the same room, Prue's boys hadn't developed that power. However, Preston's sixth sense kicked in now, and he managed to pull Chris to the floor - again - just before the fireball headed their way.
"Louian you moron!" Preston cried as Chris swore loudly. "What the hell are you playing at?!"
"I can't let you do this, Pres. I'm sorry." His hand was shaking as it formed another fireball. Grabbing Chris' arm, Preston shimmered, and the too of them appeared behind the demon.
"Go. Orb home. Now." Preston hissed. Louian was looking at the spot they'd been, too slow to realise what had happened.
"No."
"This is my fault, my demon, my fight."
"Family sticks together." Chris replied. He fired a static bolt in Louian's direction, and it grazed his arm.
The demon turned round quickly.
"Tell us where they are." Chris demanded, his voice cold and hard. "Don't make me kill you."
"You're just a kid." Louian sneered, but the fear was there. "You can't do that."
"I've done it before." Chris replied. "And I will do it again. Talk fast, or die."
"Can't you just leave it?" Louian snapped. "Why did you come to me for help anyway? Why me?"
"I thought I could trust you." Preston sneered. "I guess I was wrong."
"You can't trust demons." Louian replied. "You should have learnt that by now."
"I know." Preston shrugged. "Now, tell us where they are, or my cousin here will send one of those nice electric things through your chest."
----
"I hope they're OK." Linnie said worridly. "This is taking too long."
"Louian wouldn't hurt them." Parker said doubtfully. "I mean, mum would kill him if he did..."
"But how would she find out? If he just killed them?" Lydia asked. "They'd still be trapped there, and..." She stopped herself just before she said that Prue might be dying. It was a situation they'd all been in at some point, knowing a parent was close to death. And she didn't want to remind them of it.
"I don't know. Damn it I should have gone with them." Parker muttered. "Between us, we could have got him to help. Damn it."
"I hate this." Prudence snapped. "I hate having to sit around and do nothing. We're supposed to be witches, supposed to be powerful, but we can't do something this simple."
----
Back in the underworld, Preston had Louian up against a wall by his throat, careful to leave a place clear where Chris could send a static bolt into the demon.
"Louian, I'm getting bored of all this messing about. Tell me, now."
"I can't do it. I'm sorry." He said, pleadingly, and Preston sighed.
"OK. That's fine. I'm sorry too. Chris?"
Nodding, Chris concentrated, and the static stream was just emerging from his palm when Louian spoke again.
"OK, OK stop I'll tell you!" He cried.
"That's more like it." Chris said brightly. "Go on."
"It can only be accessed by other demons, by shimmers, or blinking. Your good magic won't be able to do anything."
"Just tell us where." Preston said. "I can do the shimmering, remember?"
And he told them. Preston looked him straight in the eye, asked him once if he was lying. And he knew he wasn't.
"Let's go." Preston said to Chris, and, with Preston's hands still at Louian's throat, Chris grabbed the back of his cousin's shirt.
"1...2...3!" As Chris started orbinhg, Preston let go of Louian, and by the tim ethe demon had conjured the fireball Preston knew he'd been planning to send at them, the two of them were back in the attic.
"You're alive!" Linnie cried.
"Last time I checked, yeah." Chris said. "Only, if it weren't for Preston, I don't think I would be." He added quickly.
"What?" Sydney raised her eyebrow.
"Twice." Chris nodded. "And if that doesn't mean we can trust him, I don't know what does."